Saturday, Sept. 1 California Speedway Fontana, California

Jeff Burton celebrates in Victory lane after winning his third Busch Series race this year.

Burton Surges to Busch Series Win in California
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

FONTANA, Calif. (September 1, 2007) -- It was just a matter of time.

With fresher tires, on a 10-lap dash to the finish Saturday night, Jeff Burton retook the lead from Kyle Busch in a side-by-side duel on Lap 143 and spent the final seven laps of the Camping World 300 NASCAR Busch Series race expanding his advantage.

Burton crossed the finish line 2.859 seconds ahead of Busch to win the 150-lap event at the 2.0-mile California Speedway. The victory was Burton's third in 15 NASCAR Busch Series starts this season and the 25th of his career, pushing him past one of his idols, Tommy Houston, to fourth on the all-time series win list.

Busch Pole winner Denny Hamlin ran thirdrestored the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the lead in the series owner points standings by 68 points.

"Kyle Busch is hard to get around," Burton said. "I knew we had a lot better tires, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer. Kasey Kahne, reigning series champion Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Robby Gordon and top-finishing rookie David Ragan completed the top 10.

Driving a brand new chassis, Burton , and that made my job easier, but by no means did I consider it a 'gimme,'" Burton said.

Busch inherited the lead on Lap 127, after Hamlin spun in Turn 2 to bring out the fifth caution of the race, and Burton pitted from the lead for the fuel he needed to finish the race. Burton restarted sixth on Lap 131 and had worked his way into second within two laps when a multicar wreck involving Matt Kenseth, points leader Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Kelly Bires and Stephen Leicht slowed the field for the sixth time on Lap 132.

Burton established his dominance after passing Vickers for the lead on Lap 63, as the two cars were in the process of lapping Mike Wallace through Turn 4. Burton went to the high side to complete the pass, and within three laps, the driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet had opened a lead of 1.035 seconds on the Toyota driver.

The following lap, however, brought a spectacular crash in Turn 1 that sent driver Brad Keselowski to the infield care center on a gurney. Contact between the cars of J.J. Yeley and AJ Allmendinger sent Allmendinger's No. 42 Dodge down the track and into Keslelowski's No. 88 Chevrolet.

The impact turned Keselowski sideways and sent him hurtling into the outside wall. A split second after the impact, Allmendinger's Dodge slid up the track beneath Keselowski's Chevy and launched its rear wheels above the barrier. The car slid on its side, trailing flames, before sliding down the track and coming to rest. Eric McClure's No. 0 Chevy also was a casualty of the wreck.

Rescue workers helped a shaken Keselowski from the car. The driver complained of pain in his foot while being wheeled to a waiting ambulance. Keselowski was airlifted to a local hospital for X-rays and further observation.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for 28 minutes to clean up the damage.

Fast Wrap

• Burton won the Camping World 300, his 25th victory in 276 NASCAR Busch Series races.
• This is his third victory and 13th top-10 finish in 15 races in 2007.
• This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in eight races at California. Burton finished second in his first two races here (1999 and 2000).
• Kyle Busch (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish at California and his 11th in 2007.
• Denny Hamlin (third) posted his fourth top-10 in six California races. It is his 11th top-10 in 15 races this season.
• David Ragan (10th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Carl Edwards now leads the NASCAR Busch series point standings by 654 points over Kevin Harvick.
• Richard Childress (No. 29) re-assumed the lead in the NASCAR Busch Series Owner Championship points by 68 points over Jack Roush (No. 60).

Schedule/Broadcast Times

Practice: Friday, August 31 (SPEED at 2 p.m./AT, 1 p.m./ET)

Qualifying: Friday, August 31 (SPEED at Midnight/AT, 11 p.m./ET) SAME DAY DELAY

Pre-Race Show: Saturday, September 2 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 10:45 p.m./AT, 9:45 p.m./ET)

Race: Saturday, September 2 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET)

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Qualifying Results

Starting Lineup

Race Results

Point Standings

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Camping World 300 presented by RVs.com
The Place: California Speedway
The Date: Sept. 1, 20071
The Time: 10:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 2-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,607,454
2006 Winner: Kasey Kahne
2006 Pole: Clint Bowyer
Pre-Race Schedule: Friday – Practice, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.; Rookie Practice, 9:45 - 10:15 a.m.; Final Practice, 10:20 - 11:20 a.m. (One hour, time permitting); Qualifying, 5:10 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Track Map



Green Flag Notes

• Brad Keselowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Seebees Chevrolet) has done nothing but strengthen his chances to land a full-time ride for two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion and JR Motorsports team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. In the five races he’s run for JRM, the 23-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., has posted two top-10 finishes – including his career-best seventh at Bristol – and also results of 13th (Chicagoland Speedway) and 14th (Michigan International Speedway) in races that each featured over 20 double-duty drivers. Keselowski also has been the top-finishing Raybestos Rookie in three of his five outings. “Our communication and understanding of what he needs in the car continues to improve each week,” said crew chief Wes Ward. Keselowski had garnered 87 points in the Raybestos Rookie standings in 13 races prior to moving to JRM. In his five races since, he’s collected 50 points.
• Brad Coleman goes into a self-described “deep-freeze” and isn’t scheduled to race in the No. 18 Carino’s Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing until Sept. 22 at Dover International Speedway. … David Ragan’s (No. 6 Discount Tire Co. Ford) best finish (sixth) in his last four races helped push his lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings up to a more comfortable 25-point margin over Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kinsford Ford), who got caught up with fellow rookie Robert Richardson Jr. at Bristol. Ambrose’s 37th-place finish tied his lowest result of the year.
• Roush Fenway teammates Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Arby’s Ford) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) share the most victories with three each. Roush Fenway drivers have led 57% of the laps at California since 2000.
• Clint Bowyer (No. 21 Camping World Chevrolet) has two Busch Poles at California Speedway, the only driver with multiple poles. No driver has won from the pole at California.
• There have been 14 different race winners in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007; the series record is 18. Nine races remain in the season.

Photo Gallery - stay tuned

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.